Nur Ali Elahi

Early life
Elahi was born in Jeyhunabad, a small Kurdish village near the eponymous capital of Kermanshah Province. His father, Hajj Nematollah (1871–1920), was a mystic and poet who was a leader of the Ahl-e Haqq and revered as a saint. From early childhood, he led an ascetic, secluded life of rigorous discipline under his father's supervision with a special focus on mysticism, music, and ethics. In addition to religious and moral instruction, he received the classical education of the time. During study and contemplation in his youth, he established the basis of his philosophical and spiritual reflections.

By the time his father died in 1919, Elahi had concluded that the time for classical spirituality had come to an end, and that the quest for spiritual development could no longer take place in the tranquility of ascetic seclusion. Instead, he believed that spirituality had to be practiced within the context of an active and productive life in the midst of society. Thus, at the age of twenty-four he left behind a contemplative life to test his ethical principles in society. Eventually settling in the capital city of Tehran, he cut his long hair and beard, replaced his traditional robes with a Western-style suit, and entered the civil service.

Judicial career

As a Court of Appeals judge in 1949
A few years later, as the country was undergoing extensive governmental reforms that included the establishment of an entirely new judicial system, Elahi enrolled in the newly formed National School of Jurisprudence. He finished a three-year curriculum in six months, and graduated with distinction in 1934.

Elahi then began a 23-year legal career, with his first assignment as Justice of the Peace in Larestan County, Fars Province, and culminating in his appointment as Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals and the High Court of Criminal Appeals of Mazandaran Province. He was highly regarded both for the precision with which he observed rights and duties, and for the importance he placed on the rule of law and women's rights. Elahi retired in 1957 at the age of 62 and settled in Tehran.

Throughout his legal career, Elahi devoted time to personal studies and research, especially in philosophy and theology. This period of metaphysical investigation helped him to formulate his later works.

Philosophy
Elahi's philosophy addresses questions about the origin and nature of human beings, their role and responsibilities in the world, and their ultimate destination. His work highlights the idea of the duality of man as both a material and spiritual being, and reasserts the importance of their metaphysical dimension. He believed that self-realization requires more than mere reflection, and that spirituality, like any science, must necessarily be grounded in verifiable experiences. Elahi's written and oral teachings are thus the direct result of his personal experiences, rather than philosophical reflections.

Writings
Elahi began to gradually reveal his system of thought after his retirement from the judiciary in 1957. During this time he wrote and published two scholarly works in the fields of religious science and authentic spirituality, as well as an extensive commentary on his father's writings. The practical aspect of his thought, on the other hand, was conveyed mostly in the form of oral teachings and instruction to close friends and acquaintances who sought his advice and guidance. Two volumes of his sayings have been published to date on the basis of notes transcribed by these individuals. He also authored several manuscripts that remain unpublished, including Unveiling of the Truths (Kashf al-Haqa'iq), which describes the genesis of the universe and the role of human beings.

In 1963 Elahi published his first book, "Demonstration of the Truth" (Burhān al-Ḥaqq), a theological work which presented for the first time an authoritative historical account of the Ahl-e Haqq, including its development, fundamental principles, and sacred rites, which until then had been kept secret. The book also addressed the esoteric aims shared in common by the Qur'an, Islam, and the Ahl-e Haqq.

In 1966 he published his second work, "Commentary on the Book of the Kings of Truth" (Ḥaqq al-ḥaqāyiq yā Shāhnāmah-ʾi ḥaqīqat), a commentary on his father's epic poem that expounded upon the determination of places and dates, the historical accuracy of certain events cited therein, and the concept of "divine manifestation".

His third and final published work, a philosophical treatise titled "Knowing the Spirit" (Maʻrifat al-rūḥ), was published in 1969 and describes his ideas on the existence and immortality of the soul, and on the soul's gradual process of maturation and perfection.

Music

Elahi Playing the Tanbur
Improvisation in Bâbâ Jalili
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An excerpt from a track on the CD Destinations
Suite Sahari
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An excerpt from a track on the CD The Celestial Music of Ostad Elahi
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For Elahi, music was primarily a means of engaging in contemplation and prayer. He never performed in public and did not make any recordings of his music in a professional setting.

Elahi's music is rooted in a tradition involving the rhythmic recital and invocation of sacred texts in devotional gatherings, accompanied by various instruments such as the tanbur (an ancient lute), the ney (reed flute) and the daf (frame drum).

Elahi began playing the tanbur at the age of six and was recognized as a master of the tanbur by the age of nine. He would eventually revive this ancient art, composing over 100 original pieces that he used as the basis for his improvisations. His musical ornamentations and complex playing technique, which for the first time involved the use of all five fingers of both hands, as well as his physical modifications to the instrument itself - namely, the doubling of the higher string so as to dramatically increase its expressiveness - earned him a reputation as an innovator of this art form and a master of the tanbur.

Since the commemoration of his centennial in 1995, eleven CDs of his music have been released. The bulk of the original recordings were made on basic mono tape recording equipment during the 1960s and '70's in the context of informal gatherings with family and friends. These tapes have since been digitally remastered and restored.

One of the characteristic aspects of Elahi's music was the use of improvisation, in which he would weave together pieces of diverse tempo and rhythm while maintaining a coherent whole. One such piece, Improvisations in Baba Jalili in the fourth followed by the Suite Zang-e Shotori in the second, found on the CD Destinations (Le Chant du Monde, 2008) exemplifies this aspect. Here, Elahi shifts back and forth between several different melodies and mixes the rhythm of one melody into that of another.

Elahi's tanbur playing was also known for its use of complex ornamentations and the density of the notes, with up to 12 notes being played per second at times. These features are apparent in Suite Sahari from the CD The Celestial Music of Ostad Elahi (Le Chant du Monde, 2004), a melody which was played at dawn to awaken dervishes for prayer.

Elahi transmitted the entirety of his repertoire for the tanbur to his youngest son, Dr. Chahrokh Elahi, who has recorded all of it on video, demonstrating Elahi's style and technique.

Legacy
During the latter part of his life, Elahi was surrounded by individuals with diverse backgrounds and interests: atheists who came for a debate, musicians who sought advice on some technical point, scholars who wished to broaden the scope of his research, villagers or seekers who sought spiritual guidance. He welcomed them all and took the time to address each of their concerns.

Elahi died on October 19, 1974 at the age of seventy-nine. A memorial was erected in his memory in Hashtgerd, a rural town located on the outskirts of Tehran.

After his death in 1974, his philosophy and teachings were continued by his son, Prof. Bahram Elahi (b. 1931), a former pediatric surgeon and medical school dean who has written several books analyzing and elaborating upon this line of thinking.

History of the title "Ostad Elahi"
Born with the name "Fatollah", Nur Ali's childhood nickname was "Kuchek Ali". At the age of eleven, he went through a spiritual transformation during an ascetic retreat with his father, who subsequently changed the child's name to "Sayyed Nur Ali". In 1941, while working as an attorney general in Khorammabad, Nur Ali legally changed his family name to "Elahi".

After he died in 1974, his sister Malak Jân Nemati (Also known as Malak Jân, Sheikh Jâni and Jâni Jân) assumed responsibility for continuing his legacy. In accordance with the custom of referring to elders with deference, Malak Jân referred to her brother with the title "Hazrat Ostad" for the next twenty years as she continued explaining his teachings.

When the Organizing Committee for the commemoration of his centennial planned the 1995 commemoration events in Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, and Tehran, they had to translate the title "Hazrat-e Ostad" into Western languages. However, the literal translation of this title in English conflicted with Elahi's reputation for humility (for example, His Highness or Majesty Master Nur Ali Elahi). With the permission of his family, the Committee settled on the title "Ostad Elahi" to retain the respect intended by his sister, and to convey that he was a master musician. As a result, most books and articles written about him since 1995 have used the title "Ostad Elahi", and it is both the name and the honorific by which he is most widely known today.

Centennial commemoration

The Life and Work of Ostad Elahi Exhibition at the Chapelle de la Sorbonne in Paris
Elahi spent the greater part of his life and work in the pursuit of self-knowledge and mysticism. In 1995, to celebrate the centennial of his birth, symposia were convened at universities in Paris, London, Los Angeles, and New York, where authorities in science, jurisprudence, literature, and music gathered to reflect on the theme of "Spirituality: Plurality and Unity". Lectures and roundtables were presented on a variety of topics, including the unity of religions, ethics and jurisprudence, science and spirituality, and the relevance of contemporary mysticism.

Under the patronage of UNESCO and the French Ministry of Culture, and in collaboration with the Academy of Paris, a two-month exhibition was concurrently organized on "The Life and Work of Ostad Elahi" at the Chapelle de la Sorbonne in Paris from September 6 to October 31, 1995. The exhibition was divided into three sections that traced the chronology of his life: Dawn (1895–1920), Rising Sun (1920–1957), and Full Sun (1957–1974). Each of these periods was illustrated by a set of texts, photographs, autobiographical anecdotes, and personal objects which aimed to allow visitors to become acquainted with Elahi and the different periods of his life.

The exhibition also featured a music chamber filled with the sounds of melodies composed and played by Elahi. This music, previously reserved for devotional settings, was played publicly for the first time on this occasion. A collection of traditional instruments belonging to Elahi and his father, including tanburs, setars, and dafs, were also on display in the chamber.

Recent exhibitions
From August 5, 2014 through January 11, 2015, an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, entitled The Sacred Lute: The Art of Ostad Elahi, presented under the patronage of UNESCO, explores the parallel between his playing of the tanbur and his approach to the quest for truth and self-knowledge.

• 100 speeches(Divine Master)

1 In the school of truth, there is no difference between religions, race and color, and there is no difference between males and females.

2 The point of the mystical circuit is that one understands what the function is, what it is in its existence, and what its purpose.

3 Mysticism is the fruit of the tree of the law and the ultimate result of philosophy and wisdom.

4 We owe God nothing but happiness and pleasure.

5 I see everything that is mortal: property, youth, authority, and so on. Every pleasure and every material success in life is definitely mortal. So what remains and eternal, it must be true and ideal for itself.

6 To find God, we must focus on our hearts; then we will see that God surrounds us, and wherever we look, we see nothing other than God.

7 It is the orbit of the world and the life of one thing: respect for others' rights.

8 How great is someone to do good to someone, on the other hand, he will answer and it will pass.

9 Whenever all the Prophets and the Father have seen all of you right, and this religion and that religion have not been left to you, you will come to the mysticism.

10 The diligence of the heart, even against the enemy, is a sign of great and spiritual perfection.

11 It is the duty of man to know the world as a field of cultivation of the hereafter and to be diligent to do good to be good.

12 In the spirit of conduct, selfishness, selfishness, and selfishness are the worst disadvantages.

13 The principle of religion, Godliness and humanity is: so that we can serve the community.

14 Humility should be against someone who cares about your greatness. Humility that carries fear and humiliation should not be.

15 The happiness is that man has what he deserves of his good fortune in the hereafter and causes his salvation in the realms of spiritual evolution.

16 Those who are both mundane and mystic are very useful to society.

17 The key to the perfection is "Consecutive lives".

18 In the way, he summarizes two things: "Attention to the source" and "Good to the People."

19th One is the lawyer of the right path, in which the laws of sharia, custom and morality follow all three.

20 The difference between beings in the form of anew and later is the source of existentialism and the causes of wisdom.

21 The seeker should avoid anything that addicts to him.

22 When everything has fallen into it, human beings are discovered and enlightened.

23 The real person is someone who is happy with the pleasure of others and sad in their sadness.

24 From the "right", no object should be bad and bad and humiliated.

25 Those who always rely on God and their arm are dear to God.

26 Moral education requires mental fitness, and no education is apparent.

27 Everything that happens to humans is due to the human being itself, so the cause must always be found in ourselves.

28 In the strengthening of will, of course talent is a condition, but practice and induction is also very effective.

29 As in the appearance of life, if a person comes to a regular, regular and active conclusion, he is also very involved in spiritual affairs.

30 If it is based on goodness, intention will be self-fulfilling.

31 The jealousy remains acidic when it first attacks on its own container, then it spreads to other places.

32 Anger for the soul and the magnetic force is like poison; the less force the positive magnetic force gets.

33 It is impossible for anyone to adhere to religion and not to be respected in the world and not to progress. Anyone who does not make progress is surely in vain.

34 The principle of worship is the constant attention to God, which means that we can not see ourselves alone in any time.

35 Every word based on experience and personal observations is very influential.

36 The real seeker should not complain about anyone.

37 The prayer of the night is closer to Azan in the morning than it is, virtue and worth more.

38 Our duty to the community is to be useful to the community.

39 Right always prevails over the unjust, provided that the person is in the belief of him and acts on it.

40 The creator is outside the scope of human thought.

41 To achieve "calm" you should not be afraid of things like unemployment, poverty, death, etc.

42 Human beings can not love God, self-destruction must be lost so that God will come.

43 No one should hope except God.

44 Appearance, inwardness, world, hereafter, whatever you want, is in the root of love. If the root of love afflicted or corrupted, everything would be ruined.

45 For a survivor, it's better than not to realize the goal at all.

46 The greater the breadth of thought, the more bored.

47 Dignity has a person who is always at ease and submissive to someone who is always in greed.

48 If a person abuses exploiters, then the oppression is to the poor.

49 Pride is so harmful that from every sin, the soul is weakened and the soul becomes strong.

50 What is useful from the commandment of religion, and the good deeds of the world and the hereafter, are the following: to always pay attention to God; in every thing, to observe and observe Him, to give His gifts, to do good to the good people, and to Be clean and happy.

51 Individuals who defend themselves, if they do not inform their identity to the community, are considered a betrayal of religion.

52 The best pleasure is the quest for pleasure.

53 Self-dominance is superior to action (good deed); when it does not dominate, action is winding down.

54 The godly man with these signs; diligence of heart, womb, love, and grief over others' grievances.

55 "Anyone who can well cultivate his child can run a country."

56 We have a duty to be patient with God, our hands are served, and the service is created, and our language always turns to goodness.

57 Since God is destined to mankind and has the power and authority to distinguish between good and evil, and to obtain the benefits and punishment of harm, everyone is responsible for the conduct of his actions, and to the extent that he is beyond the power of God, his fate with God Is.

58 The heart of the cleaners is the place of love and light, not yellow and Kintoise.

59 The events which are of faith and purpose of being lewd, the time passed, becomes more pronounced and brighter.

60 Human beings must do good, and the place of burial of the body has no effect on him.

61 If a code falls into itself, it can solve a lot of problems through which the power God has in it.

62 It is necessary for anyone to fall asleep if he is to fall asleep (from privacy, holiness, and sleep, consciousness, and movements, and so on), only one can not be found himself, and so is in the heart of God, and God is always a believer and a mind, and deeds He is

63 There is no "accident" and "incident", and everything has cause.

64 The reproach and blame that make sense in the meaning of the world is so much more difficult than physical suffering.

65 Everyone says that I am wise, more ignorant than ignorant. Man must always learn from others.

66 You are an absolute spirit, and there is no arrogance and pride; when you see pride in yourself, it is surely the breath of your soul.

67 In the way of God's religion, do not give in any way temptations, doubts, doubts and pride that are not more dangerous in the world of garlic and silo.

68 The key to conquering all the spiritual authorities is "will".

69 A person who forgives power, means to take revenge and forgive him.

70 Human life is stable on three pillars: religious law, social law, and moral law.

71 Anger, jealousy, greed, greed, lying, etc. mark the defect and impede the awakening of spiritual senses. One who steps in the way of evolution must fight these traits, other than his own.

72 At the time of worship, you must think with someone you speak, how can you not understand what you mean by every word; you must understand each word in your respect, understand and know who you are talking to and what you say.

73 Creation and creation of a kind of God's worm.

74 As far as God has given us power and determination, be careful, foolish, and diligent in our work; when we see no more work, we must know from another place.

75 with bad traits should be gradually fought to become good habits.

76 Try to find an acceptance that you accept, not to relax

77 As in every human subject and subject to mission and practice, it is steadily strong, in the same spirit.

78. All worship, religiosity and righteousness that you can not expect, just and only to respect God.

79 Perhaps, from the worst sins, the fear and despair of God's mercy.

80 music associated with the soul and soul with God, alas, that have become love to Maria. If they are in their spiritual state, the connection wires are connected to the source.

81 Of the science of appearance, that science has a positive impact that is beneficial to society.

82 Life, growth, morality, reason, grace, knowledge, authority, position, piety and faith from God to man are faith and neglect of doing duty to each one is betrayal.

83 In each creature, the amount of force is constant, it can nurture it, but it can not go beyond its limits.

84 Failure to observe the persistence of life's delusions, neglect of growth, obsession with betrayal of will, lack of betrayal of reason, anger over knowledge, anger over knowledge, betrayal of promise, corruption and falsehood, betrayal of piety, infidelity and evil, betrayal of religion.

85 The result of this world is six things: sensation, regret, regret, lie, bitter memories and nightmares of death. There are six things for everyone, if anyone reaches to the Hereafter, their effect will be neutralized.

86 Take one step away from the commotion and take a step in the spiritual path; it's approaching God.

87 All the absorbing powers that exist on earth and on duty are due to the power of God.

88 You must reach the point of worship, enjoyment and surprise, not on duty.

89 Worship should not be just a tongue of language, but it must be with action, mind, and mention

90 First, you have to make a physical education, then he has to teach the soul.

91 "Attention" is the highest worship.

92 They always live in humor and respect.

93 The more man graves and studies, the more he returns to his conquest and the greatness of God.

94 Paradise imagine, but "perfection" is supposed above.

95 It is certain that there is a god, and apart from this world there is another world that owns ghosts.

96 The principle of the philosophy of the laws of religion is based on this principle: respect for the rights of others.

97 Music has many properties that many people have not understood.

98 In some hearts there is a particle like the sun, although their appearance is normal

99 Everyone in any religion, if he is guided by the command of the faith, the world and the agent, comes to the truth.

100 Anything that has the right effect in it is not capable of hindering its development and dissemination.